Spring-wheel.



G. KHYN & G. ZAHN.

SPRING WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED MAB. 27, 1914.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Hmvmumr lowing is a specification.

the illustrated embodiment nl the invention.

bodyingthe present invention, with the web some parts to show theinterior mechanism;

.CHARLES AND kGEORGE ZAHN, OF RCCHESTER. NEW YORK.

SPRING-WHEEL.

,iatna'ieel Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .l une 23, 1914.

Application led March 2'?` 1914. Serial No. 827,589.

[o all whom 'it may concern l l Be it known that we, Cuantas Kin-IN andf GEORGE ZAHN, citizens of the United States, and residents ofRochester. in the county ot Monroe and State ot New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in SpringVheels, oi which the toli ii i l This invention relates to vehicle-wheels ot i the type in whichthe hub and the rim are i connected by means having provision for aspring-controlled yieldingmovement to compensate for inequalities in theroad sin-tace, or in the driving force applied to the wheel.

One object of the invention is to pro-- duce a wheel. of the type inquestion, ini which springs and sliding-joints are cmployed in such amanner as to permit limited relative movement between the rim and thehub of the wheel in all directions in tbel planeet the wheel, whileconfining' the parts rigidly against relative movement in otherdirections. i

Another object oli the invention is to soi arrange the sliding jointsbetween vthe relatively movable members oi" the wheel as to t minimizeor prevent the entrance ot foreign substances, and to assist thelubricatiim oi the joints.

To the foregoing ends .we employ a construction in which a metal web.carrying;` the rinroi the wheel, is arranged to slide, in alldirectional in the plane oi' the wheel, between two plates projectingtrom the hub of the. wheel, and in which both the web and the plates areprovided with spring-receiving recesses, these recesses. in on(` oi'said members, beingr substantially radial. and in tbe z other of saidmembers substantiall)Y concentric with the wheel. The springs in theseveral recesses are interconnectod. b v means in the form of slidesn'iovable in the recesses and articulated together in such a manner asto control the relative movements ot the wheelmembers throughtheirengagement with the springs.

Other objects of the invention. and the features of construction bywhich they are attained, will be pointed out hereinafter in connectionwith the followingT descr-nation ot' In the accompanyingdrawings:-Figmre 11s a partial side-elevation of a wheel emand one ofthe side-plates broken away in Fig. Qis a vertical section on the line2-2 in Fig. lg'ltig. 3 is a partial section on the line EV 1:5 in Fig.1; and Fig'. 4- is a perspective view oi one of the sets ofconnectingslides.

The illustrated en'ibodin'ient oi the invention is a wheel comprising' aweb 5 arranged to slide between two side-plates (i and 7. The plate (3projects integrally from the hub S of the wheel, while theplate 'i' iscentered on and keyed to the hub, 'and is held in position, parallel tothe plate 6, by means of bolts 10, the necessary space between theplates being;` secured by bosses .11, on their inner surfaces,surrolmdinglthe bolts as shown in Fig. 23. The inner surfaces oi theplates, at their peripheral portions, are provided with tacinpgs l2 ofiiber or other suitable material, to improveA the bearing between theplates and the web 5. rIhe space between the plates is such that. theytit closelia gainst the web, but permit it to slide freely between themin all directions, either radial or rotative. The web is illustrated asprovided with a solid rim 13, but it will be understood that this rim`may either support or be replaced by a 're-holding rim oi any requiredl'orm, to' permit the employment of pneumatic or other suitable tires.The relativemovements ot the web and the plates are controlled by meansof springs and slides. A series ot radially disposed slides 'I4 aremounted in slots termed in inwardly projecting portions 15 of the web,and two springs 'lo and 1T, respectively, are disposed beta1-:en cachslide 14 and the inner and outerends 'ot' the n'respondinpr slot., theslide being recessed from its ends to afford as unich space as possiblefor these syn-ings. Each slide 14 is provided with twolaterallyprojecting pivot-pins 1S, upon which. are pivoted two slides19. The slides 1f) are curved longitudinally, so that they may lit intoslots formed in thickened portions Q0 ot the twoplates (i and 7, theseslots beiner eoncei'itric with the plates. Springs 21 and y 22,respectively, are interposed between each slide 19 and the ends of therecess 1n which it moves, the slides 19 being recessed inwardly fromtheir ends to accommodate the` springs.

The springs and the slides just described provide connections betweenthe plates and the web which tend to hold these parts in the relativeposition illustrated in Fig. 1, but permit them to have relativemovement, when subjected to the stresses of use, in all directions inthe plane of the wheel. It', ior

Ainove'ment of the web example, the Wheel be subjected to an upwardshock against the bottom of the rim, I the web tends to move upwardly,and this l causes the loweriiiost of the springs l? to l be compressed,since the slides 19, by their engagement with the side-plates, preventthe slide 14 from moving upwardly with the. web. Similarly, all oi' thesprings 17 which are below the center of the wheel are more or lesscompressed, but, in the case of each l of the slides 19.which is notdirectly beneath the axis of the wheel, there is also a certain degreeof movement of these slides 19,

so as to compress, in each case, one of the springs 2l or 2:2, while inthe case of any ofthe slide-members which is approximately on thehorizontal diameter of the wheel, the

compression will occur wholly in the springs 2l and 22,while there willbe no relative and the corresponding slide 14. In addition'to yielding,in the above-described manner, to a force to which the wheel issubjected in an radial direction, it will be apparent that inequalitiesin the driving motion which may be imparted to the hub of the wheelmaycause the hub and the side-plates to perform a partial rotationrelatively to the web and the rim ol the wheel, this partial rotationbeing peri initted by compression of either the springs 22 or thesprings 21, accordingr to the direcl tion of rotation, while the slides19 move within the slots in the plates 6 and 7. g

In order to avoid looseness and rattling l in the parts, all of thesprings are preterably placed under some initial compression inassembling the wheel, so that when one;

spring is compressed the opposite spring shall expand so as vtocontinually .till the space provided for it. The arrangement of stantcompressionof the springs does not cause any. substantial increase infriction the parts is such, however, that this con- I l between thesliding members ofthe wheel.

It will be apparent that the arrangement of the' plates and the web otthe wheel is such that as the Wheel rotates the centrifugal j vforce soproduced tends to throw outwardlv i any foreign substance which mayfindlodgment between the plates and the web, and

also tendslto prevent the entrance of such substance when the 4wheel isin use. For

the same reason any lubricating substance packed within the moving partsof the wheel will tend to flow or to be thrown outwardly,

so as to constantlylubricate the engaging surfaces between the web andthe plates near the peripheries of the latter,-wliere the lateralstrains are chiefly borne.

.",Or invention is not limited to the einl bodiment thereof hereinbeforedescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, i but it may beembodied in various other F 2. A s irinmwheel havinor in combinationwith a hub and a rim; a web fixe to one of these parts; a pair ofside-plates fixed to the other part and loosely embracing the web; theweb and the side-plates being provide'd, in their adjacent'surfaces,with slots arranged substantially at right-angles with each other;pivotally-connected slides located in the respective slots; and springsadapted to retain each llide normally in central position in therespective slot, the

springs being located within the slots at opposite ends of the slides.

3. A spring-wheel having, in combination with a hub and a rim; a webextending inwardly from the riin and series of substantially radialslots; a pair of side-plates extending' outwardly from thel hub, looselyembracingl the slotted part of the web and one at least of them providedwith substantially concentric slotsv in its inner face; a radial slidemovable in each radial slot; a slide pivoted to each radial. slide andmovable in the concentric slots; and coiled the slots and engagingopposite ends of each slide.

4. A spring-wheel having, inconibination with a hub and a rim; a webextending inwardly from the rim and provided with a series ofsubstantially radial slots and a series of intermediateoutwardly-extending recesses; a pair of side-plates'extending out,wardlv from. the hub, loosely embracing .the slotted part of the web,and one, at least, of

provided with a compressionsprings located in ioo iic

them provided with substantially concentric slots in its inner face;connections between slide normally in central position in its slot.-

cHAnLEs anniv. GEORGE ZAHN.

illitnesses D. GURNEE, 4 C. WiARRoLL.

